1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a computer system and method for qualifying vendors, and specifically to a computer system and method for collecting and maintaining vendor qualification information to qualify vendors on a per industry basis and a per buyer basis.
2. Description of Related Art
Each industry has different requirements for the goods and services used in the industry. In addition, each buyer within the industry may have additional requirements for the goods and services used by the buyer. These goods and services can range from manufacturing components to labor resources (e.g., contractors, temporary employees and permanent employees). Although the amount and type varies, buyers typically perform some sort of due diligence prior to purchasing these goods and services in order to justify their purchasing decisions. For example, a buyer may require capabilities (qualification) information of the vendor providing the good and/or service before making their purchasing decision. In many cases, the qualification information is solicited from the vendor in the form of a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a Request for Quotation (RFQ).
In the past, the vendor qualification process has been labor intensive and restricted to a limited number of known vendors. However, with the advent of the digital age, buyers now have access to a various mediums to obtain vendor qualification information faster, cheaper and more efficiently. In addition, the pool of vendors to select from has increased due to new digital sources of vendor information. For example, buyers and vendors now have access to Internet computer networks that provide a forum for buyers to send RFQ's to qualified vendors registered with the computer network. Vendor information for each registered vendor can be centrally stored and compared to filter parameters in a submitted RFQ to select the appropriate vendors to receive the RFQ.
Although such a network provides a potentially larger pool of vendors to receive the RFQ, the buyer must enter the filter parameters for each RFQ submitted. The process of entering the filter parameters places an additional burden on the buyer, resulting in a more time-consuming and expensive RFQ submittal. In addition, if the filter parameters are not tailored appropriately, the buyer may receive RFQ responses from vendors that are not qualified, thereby requiring the buyer to review unwanted responses, and possibly re-submit a new RFQ with different filter parameters. Likewise, the network must compare the filter parameters to stored vendor information for each RFQ received. The extensive processing required to perform comparisons for each RFQ may degrade network performance and increase the associated costs of providing a vendor information service. Therefore, what is needed is a vendor qualification system that provides access to a large pool of vendors with minimal network processing and reduced buyer requirements.